Third Order
The Third Order is an organization formed and led by the evil Xerin Hedashield as part of her mission to bring the galaxy under the rule of the Dark Side. The organization is featured in the Across the Portal trilogy as the main villains, starting with Across the Portal: Interference. They fight against the Jedi Order. History Early foundations Xerin Hedashield, who was sensed by the Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Mutialatus, shortly after her birth, created wondrous gadgets in her childhood. During her elementary school years, Hedashield was an athletic and decidedly adorable girl with a strong passion for sports. However, the stress of enrolling in junior high, coupled with her being at puberty age, caused Hedashield to gradually lost her interest in sports and become addicted to eating sweets. Other students noticed that by the time seventh grade was over she was undoubtedly gaining weight. Nevertheless, the increasingly sedentary teenager had lost none of her good looks or brilliance. It is unknown when she began her way down the wicked path, but by this point, she was already seeking arcane and ancient lore and scheming to create an organization determined to bring glory to the galaxy through her own rule, as she sought to order things according to her own judgement. During her junior high education, she befriended several students and became best friends with a girl named Vlaire and a boy named Hammass. She manipulated them to do her bidding, and though this led to several nasty incidents over the years, with Hedashield's strategic discretion, none was linked back to her friends, much less the model student Hedashield herself. Origins It was around this time that she came into regular contact with Darth Mutialatus and told him of her plans, of a new order that she was planning to create, which she decided on the fly would be known as the Third Order. He promised to serve her the moment she located an ideal base of operations. Hedashield eventually discovered a science tower on a planet called Der Erebolten and decided it would suffice for the Third Order's headquarters. That night, Hammass asked her out and she agreed, the two went on their first date. Hedashield woke up in the middle of the night and worked quietly, reprogramming the robots to serve her and become the first official members of the Third Order. She reluctantly had them turn on Hammass and shoot him to ensure they were not followed, and they fled to the science tower. Safe on Der Erebolten, Xerin began making her lifelong dream a reality, starting by recruiting individuals in high places, who in turn helped her recruit many officers, nobles and technologists, who all fled with her to Der Erebolten. Most of her soon-to-be followers would have likely perished while crossing this uncharted realm if it had not been for the ancient hyperspace trails blazed by a retinue of mute alien navigators that believed Hedashield's views were right and superior to those of the current Chancellor of the Galactic Republic. Together, these rogues based on Der Erebolten and served Darth Mutialatus, who acted on Hedashield's orders thus creating the Third Order. While Mutialatus gave most of the orders and generally appeared to be in charge, Hedashield closely monitored him, telling him what to do and what orders to give, and essentially becoming the Supreme Leader of her organization. Xerin Hedashield also founded a relatively formal organization called the Grabbers, a band of mercenaries subordinate to the Third Order. Galactic conquest Xerin Hedashield still had something to complete before the Third Order could be unleashed: her own formal education. She had spent less than a week in the tower when the robots finished building her consumption speeder. Xerin drove it to the store, where it sucked out all the candy and soda and they stacked themselves neatly on the shelves inside the speeder's giant box. She drove home, undetected, as everyone in the store ran amok, having no idea what had happened. These acts of terror were carried out for her own sensitive pleasure and to invoke fear. After school, Hedashield returned to her headquarters, remaining secluded within its walls and rarely leaving except on special errands. Eventually, she learned from Saint Pyro that a Pearian may appear in the galaxy at some point in the near future, prolonging the Third Order's campaign. Believing a Pearian would be very useful in her plans of galactic domination, Hedashield ordered Pyro's slaughter, as she hoped to destabilize St. Pyro's Center for Militarized Sciences. Although Pyro was slaughtered, he placed a scientist named R'ockienc in charge. In the mix, Hedashield began seeking out an apprentice for Darth Mutialatus on the Holonet, which her access to was all but unlimited. Several individuals volunteered, finding this idea an honor. Hedashield was particularly impressed by a small Twi'lek boy named Thomas Slovak, though she accepted the fact that the choice was entirely up to Mutialatus. She chose not to reveal this to him until the time was right. She also procured the services of Captain Cole. Discovery of a Pearian After Xerin Hedashield learned that a Pearian named Kristen appeared on Coruscant and had formed an unlikely alliance with Jedi Padawan B'en'jamin Thorrn, the Third Order marked both of them for capture so they could be brought to the Dark Tower to be questioned by Darth Mutialatus. After Yaxa and Marion failed to apprehend the children, they were privately executed by General Gore. Ultimately, Xerin Hedashield found them on Naboo and brought them to Der Erebolten, believing that disclosing information whilst leaving out the essentials would earn their trust. Thorrn developed an instant crush, while Kristen was wary of Hedashield (though she was currently suspicious of everyone). First speaking with Thorrn, Hedashield questioned his knowledge of the prophecy of the Chosen One who would bring balance to the Force. When she realized he knew nothing of it, they dropped the subject and they left her bedchambers. Hedashield next spoke with Kristen and revealed that a failed experiment of St. Pyro's Center for Militarized Sciences intending to learn how to travel outside the galaxy has resulted in her abduction. Hedashield pointed out that the leader of the laboratory beckoned her several times, before telling her to seek out the Omnipotent One, who could tell her how to return to Earth. Intrigued by both of the children, Hedashield followed them downstairs and offered them the opportunity to spend the night with her. Both of them obliged. Thorrn seemed to bond with Hedashield during this time, and when daylight came, Hedashield allowed the children to borrow a speeder and gave them advice on how best to get offworld again. Captain Cole came to visit her afterwards, and she told him to ensure the children got offworld and told him she intended to use Darth Mutialatus to lure them back to Der Erobelten. However, Cole had become dillusioned with the Third Order and was waiting to make his move and betray her. Following this event, on Hedashield's orders the Third Order ambushed the children on several fronts, but they proved nearly impossible to capture, even by Mutialatus himself. A couple days later, Darth Mutialatus spoke with Hedashield, and they agreed that two Grabbers would not be enough to try again. Concurrently, Mutialatus dispatched ten Grabbers to capture the children on Geonosis. Their mission was a success, but the children fought their way out of their bonds and through the fortress. They forged an uneasy alliance with a disenchanted Captain Cole, who led them to the Supreme Leader. Darth Mutialatus appeared and killed the Captain. Afterwards, Thorrn challenged her to a duel. Suddenly, Cole used his powers to teleport the children away from the apartment and to safety. Hedashield seethed with fury at the loss of two valuable assets to her plans as well as her Captain. The Third Order's leaders met in Hedashield's private chamber. Hedashield decided that soon, she would risk coming out of the shadows to lead the Third Order, which was now public knowledge, to victory. However, the knowledge that this meant she could hire more able soldiers without fear of exposure or disloyalty comforted her. She took this chance to tell the Dark Lord of her Holonet campaign to find him an apprentice. Rise of the Third Order The start of open war With the Third Order struggling to keep their actions silent from the peering eyes of the Jedi Order, they moved into the open. Their public activities consisted of stealth attacks, espionage, torture, mass killings, and even the obliteration of two planets. These were initiated by the Third Order, often, but not always, on the orders of Darth Mutialatus or Xerin Hedashield. However, they were opposed by the Jedi Order in retaliation for these heinous crimes and spearheaded by the Grandmaster, Yoda. The Conflict of the Numbers had officially begun. Captain Cole was replaced by a being known as "the Captain". Darth Mutialatus was dispatched to Alderaan to force its inhabitants to forge several powerful war machines before devastating the planet. Xerin Hedashield went to a party, at which point several people were found and punished subtly since nobody could prove she was even vaguely associated with the Third Order. Subsequently, Xerin Hedashield summoned Darth Mutialatus to her private quarters and punished him for his actions on Alderaan and his lack of ambition before ordering him to mobilize the Third Order's military. The Third Order also invaded Tatooine and successfully conquered the Republic presence there and obliterated Orenbach's Observatory. Battle of Coruscant Eventually, B'en'jamin Thorrn decided to ask Hedashield for a rank in the Third Order, as he intended to glean useful information from her. Arriving on Der Erebolten, he was captured by Third Order members and bound to a chair for interrogation. However, he was able to privately ask Hedashield for a chance to move against the Jedi without explaining his alleged reason for suddenly hating them. Hedashield doubted he was being sincere, but she could tell he was conflicted about his feelings for her. Once the two were comfortably seated in her private quarters, they had a calm debate about the Jedi's ideals and how they clashed with the Third Order. Thorrn surprised her by asking if he can fight alongside the Third Order during their upcoming siege on Coruscant. Knowing that Kristen would return to the Jedi Temple in an effort to save the Jedi Order, Darth Mutialatus sent their forces to the planet where they would end the war and Yoda's ancient religion for good. Along with B'en, Xerin rode with her army to Coruscant, where she asked Myddd if he had succeeded in killing Kristen. He said no, much to Hedashield's disappointment. Under the discrete orders of the Supreme Leader, the Third Order attacked Galactic City, making several runs on the Jedi Temple. However, the Jedi gained an advantage when five different armies converged upon the Third Order. However, when Kreddus retreated and Darth Mutialatus murdered Phoenix and Yoda went missing, the Third Order began to gain the upper hand. The battle led to the death of many Jedi and the loss of its equipment. To B'en'jamin Thorrn, Hedashield appeared an amorphous entity of shadowy mist floating around before she revealed herself and captured the weakened Padawan, leaving the Third Order victorious on Coruscant. The final year The Battle of Coruscant saw the devastation of the Jedi Order. B'en'jamin Thorrn promised to submit to Xerin Hedashield's training, promising to serve her and do anything in his power to prove himself to the Supreme Leader. In response, Hedashield told Thorrn that she would give him one final chance on the condition that he captured Kristen. He did as she asked, imprisoning her aboard the Vindicator. Having devastated the Jedi, Hedashield gazed out the window and smiled satisfactorily, content at her victory but still regretting the fact that the Third Order may never have Kristen. Hedashield and Thorrn grew extremely close over the next year, enjoying a passionate and sometimes sexual relationship together. Thanks to his strenuous missions for the Order, Thorrn became very muscular, while Hedashield, thanks to her sedentary lifestyle, became even fatter. In the months that followed, Hedashield spent most of her time coordinating the Third Order and continuing to train Thorrn. She eventually decided that she was no longer willing to tolerate the existence of Malastare, a planet independent of both the Galactic Republic and the Third Order, which had long supported her enemies. A year after the Jedi Order was devastated in the Battle of Coruscant, the Third Order was ready to stage a coup on Coruscant, which the organization already had an iron grip around, at which point the Supreme Leader planned to step forward and crown herself Queen. Liberation of Vato Thirteen months after the Battle of Coruscant, the Third Order attempted to extradite Kristen to Der Erebolten. Several pilots comprising the Transport Squad escorted the Vindicator, while additional soldiers along with General Gore guarded inside. The attempt was ultimately sabotaged by a Third Order worker-turned-Jedi Order ally named HAMEN, whom in fact managed to switch places with Kristen before the extradition. Kristen subsequently attacked the transport in the skies, assuming control of the ship by killing the soldiers and injuring General Gore, whom she threw off the ship, escaping with HAMEN into the night. After telling the Captain to seek out reinforcements, Hedashield decided that she was tired of isolating herself from galactic affairs, and she believed that victory all but assured for the Third Order. Consequentially, she went with Thorrn and they summoned Darth Mutialatus and together they moved to apprehend Kristen and liberate Vato. In her first attempt to locate the Pearian, Xerin Hedashield contacted Kristen through her own connection to the Force and they began to metaphysically have a conversation. However, Kristen realized that Hedashield was waiting for her to leave the bunker and stalling the conversation as long as possible, so she cut off the connection abruptly. After finishing her plan on how to infiltrate the prison, Xerin Hedashield went there in person accompanied by Darth Mutialatus and B'en'jamin Thorrn. After Vato was unbound, the Wraith attempted to attack them. Hedashield easily defeated the Wraith on her own and told an awed Vato that there was one crystal left to find, and that he could thank her by retrieving it. Vato thanked Hedashield for rescuing him before calling her curiosity regarding his knife. Nodding, Hedashield took the knife and twirled it in her hand before handing it back to him. Hedashield then told Thorrn to stay with Vato until she contacted them both, with Vato agreeing to bring Thorrn to Der Erebolten if the dark apprentice guided him to the remote world, so the entity could see more involvement in the war at large. Hedashield departed the compound after admitting she had taken a liking to him. .]] After sending Darth Mutialatus to Mustafar, Xerin Hedashield returned to Der Erebolten by herself, but she began to realize her forces were growing restless and impatient. Shortly afterwards, Mutialatus went to a flashback where he was speaking to Hedashield. There, Hedashield told Mutialatus her concerns regarding her troops, something he dismissed, though he questioned Vato's formidability. Enraged by his condescending comments, Hedashield threatened the Dark Lord of the Sith, reminding him that she was his only hope of restoring the Sith and promising that he would pay dearly if they lost the upcoming Battle of Mustafar. A few hours later, she awoke from a nap on her couch, still immersed in thoughts regarding her annoyance regarding her right-hand man, and ate some cheesecake to relieve the strange taste in her mouth. However, Vato then animated a couch to contact Hedashield, prompting her to touch her own couch, learning that they had arrived and had received permission to land. Ritual of the Dark Tower As Hedashield came to realize she had not understood the true nature of the science tower she had taken over as her home, she realized it was constructed entirely of Force-sensitive materials and was the only place in the entire galaxy apart from the Jedi Temple that could contain the imminent dark ritual. Upon hearing all this, Hedashield realized she had spent so much time alone in there that she had come to love her surroundings and almost feel like they had gained a form of sentience. She then realized she would have to destroy her robots, as Thorrn remarked that returning inside the tower to grab her possessions and pack up would defeat the purpose. Unsure if his claim made sense or not, but not wishing to risk anything, Hedashield broke down crying. Thinking back to the fate of Vrean, Hedashield claimed that she could not ignore her destiny to save billions of people a second time. Hedashield tearfully apologized to Thorrn for putting him out of a home before beginning the arcane ritual to destroy her beloved home. Having committed this terrible act, Hedashield sternly looked over the cliff and mourned over the tower's destruction, as a voice told her her will was strong and her sacrifice had proved her worthy. Now capable of wielding the power of Vato, Hedashield told Thorrn they would find a solution soon. On the run They arrived on a street of Galactic City, where Xerin Hedashield suggested they enter a fast food restaurant, as a means to get out of the open. However, the duo were soon tracked down by two mercenaries. As a brief but violent skirmish broke out, Hedashield hid behind a bench and fired a beam of energy at the mercenaries, subduing them both and giving her immense confidence in her new abilities. Arriving on Umbara with B'en'jamin Thorrn and Velocity Tox, Xerin Hedashield soon found herself challenged by an alliance comprising one hundred Jedi Knights and Masters. However, despite facing off against the powerfully combined opposition, she ultimately massacred them all, forcing Yoda to fake his own death. As a horrified Thorrn followed in silence, she then returned to the comfort of her ship and they departed from Umbara. Downfall The Third Order flew to Mustafar and drew Kristen into a trap, leading to the murder of her close friend Victoria. However, the Third Order was defeated when the Jedi and their allies converged on the planet, preventing the Third Order from deploying off of Der Erebolten and establishing the New Empire. Seeing this, Darth Mutialatus fled the fiery world. Xerin Hedashield's short reign over the galaxy ended as Kristen and the Jedi worked together to send her into oblivion. Legacy After Mustafar's devastation, Xerin Hedashield's death was confirmed by Kristen and B'en'jamin Thorrn over the scattered world to the Jedi Order, which in turn, sent word of the battle's outcome in mass communications claiming to be the new power in the galaxy. Furthermore, in wake of the deaths of the Supreme Leader and many high-ranking officers during the battle, coupled with the flight of her second-in-command, as well as the resulting power vacuum, the Third Order collapsed due to internal power struggles and became damaged beyond repair. Notable Third Order *The Supreme Leader † *Darth Mutialatus *Captain Cole (formerly) † *General Gore *Lieutenant Juliah † *The Captain † *Yaxa † *Marion † *Vato Appearances *''Across the Portal: Interference'' *''Across the Portal: Insurgence'' *''Across the Portal: Intuition'' References Category:Across the Portal Category:Armies Category:Organizations Category:Villains